May 29, 2009

Williams & Connolly Partner Packing for Denmark

Williams & Connolly partner Laurie Fulton may want to brush up on her Danish, because there is a good chance she will be heading to Copenhagen.

President Barack Obama nominated her yesterday to become his ambassador to Denmark. Fulton was a big fundraiser for Obama during his campaign, donating $4,600 and bundling as much as $200,000. That makes her one of four fundraisers selected by the president for an ambassadorship. She was also a member of the leadership committee of Virginia Women for Obama.

Through an assistant, Fulton referred questions to a White House spokesman who did not return a call for comment. But during a press briefing Thursday, Obama’s press secretary Robert Gibbs addressed the matter of tapping donors for the overseas gigs.

"I think you see a group of committed individuals and proven professionals that are eager to serve their country," said Gibbs during the briefing. He emphasized that they came from a variety of backgrounds. "Some of those individuals were fundraisers; some of those were career ambassadors; some of those were people that left either teaching or some other thing like that."

At Williams & Connolly, Fulton’s practice focuses on civil litigation, internal investigations, and white-collar criminal defense. She must await Senate confirmation, of course, but if she is, in fact, destined for Denmark, she’ll likely find it in stark contrast to the high-pressure, uber-competitive world of Big Law.

For decades, Denmark has been deemed perhapsthe happiest place on Earth. In 2008, a professor at the University of Southern Denmark concluded the reason is that Danes generally have low expectations. In other words, Danes set the bar low, and as a result, are rarely disappointed.